Readers' comments

A few year's back HSBC had a jointly owned business with Nedbank, a trade finance bank which was known as Equator Bank. While HSBC took full ownership and control about 6 years ago, it could be that HSBC knows Nedbank a little bit better as a result of this past experience.

If HSBC like under performing assets they are going to love Nedbank. Nedbank is pretty much the least desirable South African bank to acquire. Their African and indeed local retail South African operations lag the other Big 3 local banks - Standard, FNB and Absa by a substantial margin. HSBC could be in for a long period of restructuring and pumping in capital in order to leverage the value out of Nedbank they think they will acquire. Going after FNB would have been a far more astute move, they would have paid more but got a much better asset.

On the foreign ownership issue, it would be ludicrous if the SA government stopped the transaction as (despite its origin in SA) Old Mutual plc is a British company. headquartered in the UK. In real terms the potential HSBC acquisition would change nothing (but as the recent fiasco with mining rights shows, never underestimate the short sightedness of politicians).